Tale of Grief
by LovingTheOgre
Summary: Secret meeting between two strangers who should have never known one another-they fall in love. She'll wait for him forever and he'll try to keep from breaking a promise he made to her long ago. Read and review even though it's crap!


There was never a tale of more woe…

_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters-this is an AU also so if the characters and OOC then you know why! _

-

A thousand trials he had put himself to in order to reach his ultimate goal. Running away from what was home, betraying everyone he knew and all the while knowing deeply inside his own conscience that it was wrong.

Very wrong.

Despite it all she would always welcome him as though he had never left and betrayed their home and as always she would not say a word.

Sometimes he wished he could hear her soft melodious voice; her sigh; laughter. He'd never been so curious about a being of the opposite sex before. He knew she was different.

Her soft innocent gaze would pass through him seemingly trusting him completely when before they had never said a common word in their school days.

She seemed to trust that he would not harm her and though it should have disgusted him-he earnest trust in him should have been considered stupidity. He was happy that someone from home trusted-even if she was insignificant and weak.

His kimono was a dripping mess from the rain half stained in blood that was not mostly his-where he should have been afraid she'd scream at the sight of him at her window soaked in blood and rain he was surprised to find her ushering him inside with a faint blush on her face.

Now he sat at the foot of her spacious bed, kimono hung over a chair while only in his pants examining her modest room.

His large hands splayed against the cream colored comforter beneath his fingers and palm. He couldn't even remember when he'd slept in an actual bed in an actual room. Candle light made strange shadows on the wooden walls where pictures hung-some of her own creation while others where photographs of friends and scenery from their home.

She took his large hand in hers, examining the cut on his palm.

"It's shallow." He said.

She turned his hand over. Lifting her own hand she brushed his long fingers with her own for a moment before stopping at his cut and bruised knuckles.

"My knuckles are bruised, yes. I'd had to fight hand on hand today with my teammate-the one I told you about. He seems better these days though; he isn't so prone to lash out so much now."

Whether she heard him at all he didn't know. She never answered him in the entire three years he would come here. Whenever he was near the village, he would find himself at he window seeing entrance there.

It had been that way when she'd found him in the forest near death.

'I'll save you so that you can d-do what you set to do but in return I want you to promise to return once your brother is dead.'

From that day he'd never hear her voice again.

"It's not as bad as it looks…the blood is mostly Juugo's anyway."

She inclined her hear to the side, in question, indigo hair half shielding her opulent white eyes.

"He's fine to."

She nodded before again examining his shallow wounds. Her touches were as soft and light as butterfly wings against his cold pale skin-warm where it was once cold; ice. He couldn't imagine how and why they where the way they were, it was simply unfathomable for them to carry any sort of relationship; however platonic. They were friends of friends that shouldn't be even close enough to utter a simple sentence.

Shouldn't be the girl whom was in love with him tending his wounds and watching over him? Didn't she deserve to do that more then this stranger?

He touches stopped at his chest, where his heart should be; her palm flat against his breast. Warm; living; shaking…her touches always made him feel miraculous and alive-this he surmised was the reason he kept returning. Her touches set his skin on fire and her silent eyes reminded him of the innocence which had been lost to him so long ago.

"Speak." He suddenly said. His hand, which had been resting on the comforter, had risen slowly. He placed a tentative touch to her round pale cheek marveling at the color that rose there. Rose pink. "For almost for years we have passed in one sided conversations-I want to hear your voice; I can't remember it anymore."

Her eyes bore into his.

"Speak to me say something; you're not a mute so speak!"

Her eyes closed slowly then opened. Her hand; palm flat against his chest; fell to her lap.

"I promised myself that I wouldn't allow myself to become close enough to you-so it wouldn't hurt when you were gone." She said in one breath. "I alluded myself, into believing that I could not, would not, be close to you. You were neither my friend nor a boy I 'loved' like everyone else."

"So what are you saying?" He asked. He noted that her speech was that of a woman, a strong woman and chastised himself for always viewing her as the shy girl he'd once known.

She leaned forward, her ear against his chest to listen to the steady rhythm of his heart beat. She sighed.

"What now isn't important or possible. You were bragging before that you found the location for your brother."

"Yes. I'll finally kill him."

"That's good…because then you'll hold up your end of our bargain."

He nodded.

"Yes. I'll return to this place and endure whatever punishment is dealt to me."

"And this will end."

He hadn't thought of that-their secret meetings would come to an end. He didn't understand why he suddenly felt very sad.

"Yeah. I suppose there won't be a need to come to see you anymore."

Her hands, so small and warm, came to rest at his shoulders before sliding down his arms and then her arms wrapped around his waist.

"Would it be wrong if I said I would miss you? That I'm afraid of you dying tomorrow and sad that if you return alive this will end? Am I truly a selfish person to wish for you to just stay here with me?"

"I should go." He suddenly said. This closeness, her warmth was seeping into his skink making him yearn to stay longer. He couldn't afford to let her cloud his judgment now, when everything was so close to finally becoming resolved. He removed himself from her hold and stood in a swift motion. Grabbing his kimono and throwing it on he made his way towards her window without another glance.

If he looked at her now he might not ever leave.

"Wait!"

He stopped; breath caught in his throat.

"What?"

"I-i…uh…i-if you…"

He almost laughed at the familiarity of her stutter.

"If y-you die tomorrow…then what a-about your clan revival?"

"I suppose there won't be a clan then." He turned around and faced her. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment, spreading down her neck. "Why?"

"I-i…i…"

"Spit it out."

"I want to help you revive your clan!"

His mind, for the first time in many years formed a blank. No coherent thought entered, no words formed his lips.

It might have been amusing if the situation weren't so mortifying.

"I-i…want to help in anyway I can…"

"But isn't this something one does with one they love? Don't you love that idiot ex-teammate of mine?"

Her eyes softened.

"I was infatuated with him…but now I…I-i…know. I do-I do love you very much for these past three years."

Leaning forward he caught her innocent lips with his own. Her warmth spreading like fire from their joined lips thought his entire being.

"I don't know what it is I feel…if someone like me could love then I would love you." He said. "Definitely…I would definitely love you...so wait for me to come back to you."

And he took what she so lovingly offered.

-

(Four Months Later)

"Is she still there…locked in her room?" Sakura asked the blonde beside her. It had been a month since she and the rest of the village had found out about the love affair between the heiress and the traitor-she wasn't too happy about it but knew her place well enough not to be involved.

Ino nodded, almost solemn like.

"Yeah. Neji says that she doesn't talk either, and he'd afraid that she'd withering away from sadness. You can understand that more then anyone forehead."

Sakura nodded sadly.

"Yeah…"

"There's more." Ino said.

"More? I guess dating Neji Hyuuga does have some perks!"

"It has way more perks then that!" The blonde blushed. "But anyway-what I'm about to tell you…you can not get mad."

"I wont."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

For a moment it was silent. The wind blew through their hair, the petals from the flowers on the trees fell gracefully to the ground while both girls barely moved from their position on the bench. Ino leaned forward and whispered into Sakura's ear.

Green eyes widened in shock, anger and finally deep sadness.

"Oh."

"I know."

"Hey Ino?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think…he knew? Do you think he planned that to happen?"

"I hope so…for both their sakes."

The discussion had ended between them. Sakura's eyes landed on a lone petal, dancing in the breeze and rising higher in the blue sky.

-

Hinata sat at the end of her bed alone. Her eyes trained at the window as though waiting for it to open.

Neji stood at the doorway watching her.

"He isn't coming back you know…"

"I know."

He clenched his fists.

"Why did you tell your father about the affair?"

For a moment it was silent. Her eyes seemed far off in a distant memory before returning to the present.

"Because…before he…he promised to marry me when he got back so I assumed father should know something at least."

"I see." Neji's eyes softened. "What about…the baby? Now that he is …and your father said…"

"He said no bastard grandchildren…I know. I will take my baby somewhere safe-away from here then. Perhaps I'll go to his compound and raise the baby there. He would have liked that."

"Yes. He certainly would."

She would wait-knowing that he wouldn't come through that window, knowing that she would never catch his scent, feel the coldness of his skin or kiss his lips. His voice would no longer fill her ears nor would her heart beat loudly for him.

He had lost himself that day, in that finally fight against his older brother-he wouldn't; couldn't keep his promise.

Hinata would wait patiently nonetheless, waiting for Sasuke to return-even after the birth of their son-after the years that passed.

"Mommy…daddy isn't coming home."

"I know Toya…I know."

However she would still wait.

_**Sera: This was crap. I don't even need a flame telling me this was crap because it was just…crap! So no flames. **_

_**Sasuke: You made us OOC and you killed me. **_

_**Sera: It's an AU and I felt like killing you. **_

_**Sasuke: Loser. **_

_**Sera: Review please.**_


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